Edda, an introduction from Sweden, was recommended
for the first tim e in 195 I for all barley-growing
areas of Alaska. About 200 bushels of this new barley
variety were available for distribution to Alaska growers
in 195 I through the Alaska Agricultural Experiment
Station. Because Edda is early, stiff-strawed, highyielding,
and of good quality it is expected to have an
im portant place in the production of feed and seed in
the Territory. A nalytical chemical determ inations
suggest that Edda is at least equal in feeding value to
similar varieties grown in Alaska and to Stateside barleys.In cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Administratio

Bensin, B.M.

Litzenberger, S.C.

English

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CIRCULAR 16*C'\rcu)or (MoukH arvesting a fie ld  of pure seed Edda barley  at M atanuska Station  near Palm erA laska A g r icu ltu ra l Experiment S tationDon L. Irw in, D irector P A L M E R .  A L A S K A  in Cooperation w ith  theUnited States Departm en t o f A g r icu ltu re  A g ricu ltu ra l Research A dm in is tra tionjccoivs LIBRARYWERSSTY Or MLAaKA-fAIRBANKILIFE SC 'IK -L .LIBRARY AFRlL- 1951Ac\f ' uraA_ StcdiorvS (ILS^ )SUMMARYEdda, an in troduc tion  from  Sweden, was recom­mended fo r the f irs t tim e  in 195 I fo r a ll barley-grow ing  areas o f A laska. Abou t 200 bushels o f th is new barley va rie ty  were availab le fo r d is tribu tion to  A laska grow­ers in 195 I th rough the A laska A g ric u ltu ra l Experim ent Station. Because Edda is early, s tiff-s traw ed , high- yield ing, and o f good qua lity  it is expected to have an  im po rtan t place in the production o f feed and seed in the Te rrito ry . A na ly tica l chem ical determ inations  suggest th a t Edda is a t least equal in feeding value to  s im ila r varieties grown in A laska  and to S ta te­side barleys.Edda Barley for AlaskaB y S . C. LITZENBERG ER and B. M. BEN SIN *Increased grain yields, stiff straw, earliness, and good seed quality are some of the reasons for releasing Edda barley in 1951 to seed growers. Agronom ic results indicate that this variety posses­ses a greater number o f desirable qualities than Olli or Trapmar barley under Alaskan conditions. Edda barley should do much to stimulate grain production in the agricultural areas of the Territory.About 200 bushels of Edda are available for distribution through the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station. This pure seed in­crease was obtained primarily from  contracted plantings made bv the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station at Bozeman, M on­tana, and a seedgrower in Aberdeen, Idaho, under irrigation where optimum seed increase could be expected.The purpose of this circular is to give the origin, description, and performance of Edda in comparison with those varieties com ­monly grown in Alaska.ORIGINEdda (C . I. 7129) ** was introduced from Sweden into the United States and Alaska by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. It was derived from a cross of Asplund with Vega made in 1925 at the Swedish Svalof Branch Station at Torsta. Edda barley was released to Swedish growers in 1943 and is currently grown there for both cattle feed and human consumption. It was planted in Alaska in nursery trials for the first time in 1945.DESCRIPTIONEdda is a 6-rowed, hulled, rough-awned, variety with a semi- lax spike (figure 1 ). The seeds are medium large in size, blue in color, and possess short-haired rachillas. This is an early maturing,.* A gron om ists, M ataruiska and Fairbanks E xperim ent Stations, P alm er and College. A laska, respectively . T h e  au th ors acknow ledge th e  assistance o f  D r. Z o la  M. F inem an, fo rm erly  A gron om ist, M atannska E xperim ent S tation , w ho con d u cted  the w ork  a t that S ta tion  during 1944-1947 and M r. H. J. H odgson , H ead, A g ron om y  D epartm en t, A lask a  A gricu ltu ra l E xperim ent Station , w ho con du cted  the w ork at the M atan u ska  S tation  du rin g  1948 and until Septem ber 1, 1949; an d  o f  M r. John  C. B rinsm ade w ho assisted w ith  the ceireal in vestiga tion s  a t the F a irban ks S ta tion  fo r  the p eriod  reported . Special a cknow ledgem ent is  due D r. A llan D. D ickson , B a rley  a n d  M alt L aboratory , M adison  W isconsin , fo r  the m alting data  included  in  th is c ircu la r ; to the severa l m em bers o f  the A g ron om y D epartm en t o f  the M ontana  A g ricu ltu ra l E xperim ent S tation , Bozem an , M ontana , and the seed grow er a t  A berdeen, Idah o, fo r  th e ir  help  in  in crea sin g  th e  seed o f  Edlda barley  fo r  d istribu tion  to  A laskan  grow ers; to  the G ra in  B ran ch , P rod u ction  M arketin g  A d m in istra tion , U. S. D . -A., W ash ington , D . C., fo r  the reported  n u tr ition a l a n a lyses; and to the num erous A laskan farm ers and w orkers in govern m en t agen cies w ho so sp lendid ly  coop erated  in  m aking the U n iform  A laska C ereal T r ia ls  a success.**C. I. denotes the access ion  num ber o f  the D ivision  o f  C ereal C rops an d  D iseases o f  th e  U nited  S ta tes  D epartm en t o f  A gricu ltu re.4 A L A S K A  A G R IC U L T U R A L  E X P E R IM E N T  ST A T IO Nhigh yielding barley, exhibiting resistance to lodging. In comparison with Olli, to which it is most similar in appearance, Edda yields about 13 to 25 percent more grain per acre and is about 2 days later in maturity. In most other characters— straw strength, plant height, and bushel weight— the two varieties are about equal. Edda is susceptible to covered smut. N o loose smut has been observed in nursery or field plantings of Edda in Alaska.F igu re  1. L e ft  to  r ig h t : H eads, seeds, and! sp ikelets  on  a  single raoh is  jolint o f  Elddia, T rap m a r, and OU'i barley.EDDA B AR LE Y FOR A L A S K A 5LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTSEdda has been compared with Olli and Trapmar barley in advanced yield trials since 1946 at the Agricultural Experiment Stations located near Palmer and College. Uniform  Alaska Cereal Variety Trials were also conducted on farms throughout the T erri­tory in 1950 with the cooperation of the Veterans On-the-Farm Training Program and the Agricultural Extension Agent at Palmer. The plot size and experimental design employed were those regu­larly accepted for this type of varietal evaluation. The number of replicates employed was four.A ll plantings on Experiment Station land were made on spring- plowed land which had been cultivated for many years and the pre­vious crop was either potatoes or oats and peas. Many of the cooperative Uniform Alaska Cereal Variety Trials throughout the Territory were on newly cleared land (See table 2 ).Seeding rates per acre have varied some from  year to year but were the same for all varieties in any one season. The lighter rates, or 1 1 /2  bushels per acre, were used for comparative plantings in 1950, while in previous years 2 bushels per acre was the standard rate.’ A  drill was used to sow nursery trials wherever possible; a few were seeded by hand.AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCEIn discussing the agronomic performance of Edda, Olli, and Trapmar, data for grain yields, weight per bushel, date o f maturity, plant height, lodging, and reaction to smut are treated separately. Table 1 gives a summary of all the results from  tests conducted at the Experiment Stations during the years 1946-1950, while table 2 presents the 1950 yield and test weight data from  the Uniform Alaska Cereal Variety Trials.Trapmar and Olli are used as standards for comparison. Trap­mar represented about 90 percent of the barley grown in Alaska m 1950 Olli accounted for about 5 percent of the acreage since it was only in 1950 that this variety was first recommended for grow ­ing in Alaska.Grain yield determinations were made with Edda in advanced nursery trials over a 5-year period, 1946-1950. Yields for individual years at Palmer and College are given in table 1. A t the Matanuska Station Edda has consistently yielded more gram than Olli, the standard commercial hulled variety. For the 5 years it average 25 percent, or 10.6 bushels more grain per acre than Olli and lb . I bushels more than Trapmar. A t College it averaged 39.5 bushels, while Olli yielded 34.9 bushels per acre. A t both locations lrapm ar yielded 13 percent less than Olli.In the Uniform  Alaska Cereal Trials on individual farms, theA l a s k a  a g r i c u l t u r a l  e x p e r i m e n t  s t a t i o nT a b l e  1 Agronom ic performance of Edda {N e w ), and Olli and Trapmar {O ld)  barley in Experim ent Station N ursery Yield Trials in Alaska, 1946-1950.M atanuska Station  n ear Palm erF airban ks S tation  near C ollegeA gron om ic ch a ra cter ­is tics  com paredNumber of yearsEddaOlli<3SaZH Number of years 1Eld daOilliTrapmarO ates— 1/ 10 h e a d e d __— fu lly  h e a d e d ___— ripe ______________   37— 7 7— 3 7— 117— 14 7— 7 7— 198— 16 8— 14 8—247— 7 7— 4  7— 128— 5 8— 3 8— 14C overed sm ut (percen t in fe c t io n ) ______________Lodging- (p ercen t) ____________________ 3 36P la n t h e igh t (in ch es) 43 35W eigh t per bushel (p ou n ds) ______  2 49.3 49.91 61.4 3 49.0 48.3 57.9G ra in  y ields (ibushels) (a ) ________ 1948 49.31947 33.71948 62.61949 42.71950 80.3A verage _________________34.6 34.0 1946 43.7 34.6 22.721.4 22.7 1947 19.2 23.1 21.251,2 49.8 1948 41.9 33.4 43.439.4 26.9 1949 57.4 54.5 37.369.0 53.2 1950 35.1 29.1 27.553.7 43.1 37.3 C9.5 :4 .9  30.4P ercent o f  O lli (S tan d ard ) 125'a )  G ra in  y ields and com parison s a re  based o n  a  48-poun d bushel.superior yielding ability of Edda was again substantiated. Except at one location, it produced more grain than any other barley, having averaged 48.4 bushels per acre for the 14 locations (table 2 ). Olli and Trapmar yielded 13.3 and 23.8 bushels per acre less, respectively W eight per bushel data in tables 1 and 2 show that Edda is at least equal if not slightly superior to Olli. Both varieties have averaged above the 48-pound established standard for hulled barleys. Under Alaskan conditions, Edda can be expected to yield high quality grain in most years.Date of maturity, as measured by dates the plants have headed o r  are ripe, is one of the most important factors in determining what variety should be grown in Alaska. A t both College and Palmer, Edda was 2 days later in maturity than Olli— the earliest com ­mercial variety grown in Alaska. Compared with Trapmar, EddaEDDA BARLEY FOR A L A S K A 7T a b l e  2. Grain yields and weights per bushel of Edda, Olli, and Trapmar barley grown in Uniform Alaska Cereal Trial in 1950.L ocation  o f  tria lW eight per bushel in  pounra in  yie ld  Ls per acrein(d )ds ' f  bushe$su OlliTrapmarcat i■o0 OlliTrapmarM atanuska  ValleyA n ch ora ge  (a ) (b ) __ 45.6 32.2 17.8 — — —M atanuska 82.1 72.0 44.8 50.8 48.4 62.3B u tte  Area -115.9 99.3 56.4 53.0 51.4 61.3P alm er (Lazy M t.) (b ) __ 40.3 28.8 7.3 49*0 46.0 —W asilla  (b ) .. 32.5 26.8 30.5 51.6 51.3 62.0S w am p Lake (b ) 35.3 42.7 34.3 49.0 47.5 60.4B ig  Lake (b ) 5.2 4.3 2.0 — — —K n ik  (c ) ... 56.6 28.4 32.0 50.7 49.9 62.7G oose  B a y  (b) _ 12,9 5,5 12.8A verage 47.4 37.8 26.4 (e)51.0 (e)49.7 (e)61 .8C opper R iver V alleyG ak on a  (a )  _____________ ___ 36.2 32.2 14.5 — — —T a n an a  V alleyC ollege —  U plands 34.5 24.0 16.4 49.8 50.5 60.0C ollege —  B ottom lands ___ 56.8 33.3 38.3 52.5 50.0 57.8S alch a  Creek (b ) 41.6 28.4 37.4 52.8 52.0 61.0A verage 44.3 28.6 30.7 51.7 50.8 59.6K enai P en insu laS c l io tn a  - _ 81.6 33.3 ( f ) 49.5 50.1 ( f )A verage o f  a ll loca tion s —  48.4 35.1 24,6 (g)'51.3 (g)50.1 (g)61.0(a ) O nly one rep lica tion  harvested for  y ield  determ inations.(b ) P lantings w ere o n  new ly cleared land.( c )  P lanted  on  new ly cleared  regrow th , land  previously  cu ltivated.(d )  C a lcu lation s based  on  48 poun ds p er  bushel.(e )  Lazy M ountain  n ot includ ed  in  average.(1) C om plete fa ilure due to  late m aturity , severe lodg in g  a n d  m ice  dam age,(g ) L azy M ou n ta in  and S o ld o tn a  n o t  included  in average.8 A L A S K A  A G R IC U L T U R A L  E X P E R IM E N T  STATIO Nis earlier in maturity by more than a week (table 1 ). In the present agricultural areas of Alaska where grain production appears promis­ing, Edda should mature satisfactorily.Plant height o f Edda has been generally acceptable in all observed plantings. For comparable years, Edda grew about 43 inches tall, or 3 inches higher than Olli at Matanuska; while at College, Olli was taller than Edda by that same amount. Trapmar, under normal conditions, grows taller than either variety (table 1 ).Lodging  has been generally more severe at the Matanuska Station than at College. A t the Matanuska Station, Edda stood up well, having lodged only 4 percent during the last 3 years. In the same tests, Olli lodged 9 percent and Trapmar, known to be rela­tively weak-strawed, averaged 36 percent. Little or no differential lodging among varieties occurred at College.Reaction to smut studies were made at the Matanuska Station in 1950. Covered smut, Ustilago hordei (P ers .) Lagerh., infections in 1950 were obtained by artificially inoculating hand dehulled seed with a composite of spores collected from various barley varieties growing in the Matanuska and Tanana Valleys in 1949. Edda and Trapmar were susceptible to these covered smuts, having averaged 9 and 11 percent of the heads smutted (table 1 ). In contrast, Olli was entirely free o f smut. Trapmar has been observed to be highly susceptible to loose smut, U. nuda (Jens.) Rostr. and to black or semi-loose smut, U. nigra Tapke. N o infected heads of this type of smut have been observed in seed stocks of either Edda or Olli that have been growing in Alaska for some time.Although covered smut is probably the most destructive disease affecting barley in Alaska, it can be readily controlled by externally treating the seed before planting. Mercurial seed disinfectants, when applied as recommended by the manufacturer, should control both covered and black loose smut in barley.MALTING QUALITYMalting tests of Edda grown at College and Palmer in 1949 and 1950 were made by the U. S. Barley and Malt Laboratory at M adi­son, W isconsin. Based on 2 years’ tests, Edda was found to be better than Olli, which is recognized as one of the good malting varieties when grown in the more northern areas where it is adapted. Malts from  Edda barley grown at the Matanuska Station were very high in extract for 6-rowed barleys and unusually high in alpha- amylase activity. Therefore, malt from Edda might be utilized in blending to bring up malt deficiencies o f other barley varieties. The seasonal effect upon quality, while fairly high for some factors, did not change the ranking of the two varieties.Pilot plant malting and brewing studies (small-scale runs) are being continued with the 1950 samples from Alaska by the BarleyEDDA B AR LE Y FOR A L A S K A 9and Malt Laboratory. Results of these tests are not available for this report.FEEDING VALUEActual feeding trials using Edda have not yet been conducted in Alaska. Chemical analyses, however, have been made on it and certain other Alaska-grown barleys by the United States Depart­ment o f Agriculture (Grain Branch, Production and Marketing Administration, Washington, D. C .). The chemical compositions of Edda, Olli, and Trapmar for the years 1949 and 1950 are reported in table 3. A ll determinations reported are on a moisture-free basis. The results in general are encouraging, since all three Alaska-grown barleys were equal to or higher than Stateside barleys* in percent protein, nitrogen-free extract, and total digestible nutrients, but slightly lower in crude fat, ash, and crude fiber. For the years tested Edda and Olli, both hulled varieties, were about equal in composition, differing only by 0.33 percent in protein 0.05 percent in ash, and 0.80 percent in nitrogen-free extract. The total diges­tible nutrient composition of Edda for the four Station-years was 88 06 percent. For the same period Olli averaged 88.00 percent and Trapmar, the hulless variety, ran 89.8 percent for the same factor. For comparative purposes, M orrison lists common barley in the United States, not including Pacific Coast States, as having 86 97 percent total digestible nutrients. Barley from the Pacific Coast States averages 87.66 percent, while hulless or naked barley showed an analysis of 89.19 percent total digestible nutrients in the States.The analytical data presented in table 3 indicate that Edda should be entirely acceptable as a feed barley..  M orrison , F. B.' F eeds and feed in g , pp . 1114-1115. T h e  M orrison  P ublish ing O )., Ithaca., N. Y . 1949."SON 5- .w V a iw .iK  Wr /lU teivvrA iktiA N K I10 A L A S K A  A G R IC U L T U R A L  E X P E R IM E N T  ST A T IO NT a b l e  3. Nutritional analyses on Edda, Olli, and Trapmar barley from  yield trials at College and Palmer, Alaska, with United States determinations for comparison (a ) .K ind o f  barleyLocatliongrow n Y earP ercen tage com p osition  (c )Protein(d)CrudefiberCrudefat■8Nitrogen- free ex­tract ejTotal digestible nutrients (e)H ulled T ypeE dda - -  P a lm er ____ -1 9 4 9 10.5 4.7 1.8 3.0 80.0 87.7719*50 8.9 4.3 2.0 2.3 82.5 88.94Average 9.70 4.50 1.90 2.65 81.25 88.36C ollege 1949 14.7 5.4 1.9 2.9 75.1 87.141950 13.8 4.3 2.1 2.3 77.5 88.39A v e r a g e ___ 14.25 4.85 2.CO 2.60 76.30 87.77O lli — P alm er ...._____ _ 194.9 11.3 4.8 2.0 2.9 79.0 87.901950 10.2 4.7 2.0 2.5 80.6 88.44A verage ______ . 10.75 4.75 2.00 2.70 79.80 88.17C ollege . 1949 13.9 5.2 1.8 3.0 76.1 87.141950 13.8 4.0 2.1 2.3 77.8 88.50A verage 13.85 4.60 1.95 2.65 76.95 87.82U. S. com m on , exc lu d ­ing P a c if ic  CoastS tates (b ) 14.21 6.04 2.13 3.13 74.49 86.97U. S. com m on , P a cif icC oast S ta tes (b ) 9.69 6.35 2.12 2.90 78.94 87.66Hulless TypeT ra p m a r - -  P a lm er 1940 12.8 2 5  1.6 2.0 81.1 89.001950 11.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 83.1 89.86A verage 11.90 2.25 1.80 1.95 82.10 89.43College 1949 16.4 2.4 2.2 2.2 76.8 88.921950 13.9 2.1 2.0 1.7 80.3 89.64A verage . ____ 15.15 2.25 2.10 1.95 78.55 89.28U. S . com m on ,hulless (b ) 12.86 2.66 2.22 2.33 79.93 89.19(a ) A n alyses o f  Alaskan, gra ins m ade b y  G ra in  B ranch , P rod u ction  and M arketing A d m in istra tion , TJ. s. D epartm en t o f  A gricu ltu re . iviarueting(WC oM I t h S  £  Y .  ? 9e49S an d  feCdine:- P P ' 11 14 - 1 1 1 5 - T h e  M o rriso n  P u b lish in g6c) A ll values are on  a  m oist/ure-free ibasis.(d) N x 6.25.(e ) C a lcu lated  values.

Circular 16

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Circular 16

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